A mum unexpectedly went into labour during a dinner party with the help of her husband and sister - while the rest of the family downstairs had no idea what was going on. Abbie Morris, 32, who gave birth to a little boy a week before her due date at home in Fareham, Hampshire, had invited relatives over for a meal on August 21.
But the junior merchandiser ended up going into labour before paramedics could arrive, forcing her husband Aaron, 32, and sister Grace, 29, to step in. Thankfully baby Jax was delivered safely and is doing well.
Abbie's parents didn't suspect a thing - with her mum continuing to keep the kids entertained while her dad continued cooking his homemade chilli in the kitchen. "My mum had no clue what on earth was going on – she was so distracted keeping the kids entertained she didn't realise I had had the baby upstairs," Abbie said.
"Because it was so quick, I was still wearing my clothes. I was wearing a long black skirt which I was able to push down and my hair and make-up were still intact.
"In the end up my dad ended up making the chilli for dinner and my daughter was able to meet Jax when he was only an hour old.
"We told everyone his name and they got to see him and give him a kiss."
Abbie had planned to throw a small dinner party with her family on the Sunday.
But on the Saturday - August 20 - she began to experience contractions.
Aafter a visit to the hospital, she says she was told that there was no reason to worry and was sent home.
The contractions settled down throughout the day and by the evening seemed to have stopped completely, so Abbie decided to throw the party as planned.
But, as Sunday progressed, she noticed she was experiencing contractions again – so she asked her parents to pop around early to keep an eye on their three-year-old daughter Ellie.
After they arrived at 2pm, she decided to take a break in her bedroom and at 4.45pm told Aaron she was going to take a nap.
However, just 10 minutes later, she found herself in increasing pain – and at 4.55pm, when Aaron came to check on her, she realised the contractions were just five minutes apart.
Abbie explained: "On Saturday I started having some contractions in the morning – they were mild and I was a bit concerned so I went into hospital and they monitored me but said it was fine.
"I left the hospital and was home by 10.30pm and went to bed at 1am, when the contractions had stopped completely and I thought it was a false alarm.
"I woke up in the morning and the same thing happened again – they kicked off at 10am but it was fine.
"'I'd decided I wasn't going to cancel [the dinner party] – even if we did have to go to hospital it meant people would be here to watch Ellie.
"Mum and Dad came around at about 2pm and I decided to go upstairs to the bedroom.
"At about 4.45pm Aaron came up again and I said, 'These aren't going anywhere, it's going to be the same as yesterday'.
"I lay down on the bed to have a little sleep and then 10 minutes later the contractions ramped up and I couldn't lie down the same anymore.
"Aaron came up at 4.55pm and I told him they were strong but still five minutes apart.
"I phoned the labour line to ask if it was normal as they were still far apart but really intense now.
"They were quite laid back about it on the phone – the thing they were worried about was the fact there were no hospital beds available."
Abbie claims the call handler suggested she may need to attend a hospital over an hour away, as there were no beds.
Realising they may be in for a long journey ahead, Aaron then rushed out of the house to fill the car with fuel to ensure they could make it to wherever they needed to go.
But in the meantime, things weren't slowing down for Abbie – and, within 20 minutes, her contractions were suddenly just a minute apart.
Abbie continued: "Aaron ran out to get petrol as we had enough to get to the local hospital but not to get an hour away.
“During that time, I finished the conversation with the lady and agreed I would call back when they were closer together.
"At 5.15pm, they were a minute apart and I was starting to panic as Aaron was still not back from getting petrol.
"I was getting to the realisation that the baby was coming at home.
"At 20 past, I phoned the labour line again but the contractions were so intense I couldn't speak at all.
"They continued to say they didn't know where I would be sent and they would phone me back and tell me where I needed to go.
"At 6pm, I still hadn't heard from them and I said to Grace and Aaron that I thought we needed to call 999 because I knew this baby was coming."
Abbie was having the urge to push and when Aaron was put on hold on the phone to the ambulance, with the handler saying they needed to speak to someone, Abbie's waters broke.
They were put through to a midwife who coached Aaron on how to deliver the baby.
Abbie said: "Aaron was quite upset and was saying to Grace, 'I can’t do it, I can’t do it' and she was telling him he could and was helping him."
At this point, the rest of the family was alerted. Her mum was keeping Ellie occupied and her dad was outside ready to flag the ambulance, while Abbie's brother-in-law shoued updates out to him.
"It all sounded quite comical downstairs," Abbie added.
After the baby was delivered, she was taken to the hospital for checks, where she stayed for two nights.
Abbie said: "We didn't leave the hospital until Tuesday at midday but only because of mild complications – luckily Jax didn't need monitoring.
"Aaron came and picked us up with Ellie on Tuesday and we got home at about 1ish – and that was when our life as a family of four started."
A spokesperson for Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust said: "Due to the unpredictable nature of birth, maternity services everywhere can have peaks and troughs of activity.
"Having one to one care in labour is very important for safety, so when a service is unable to do this, they work with neighbouring hospitals to support with admissions until the peak passes and the service can reopen, this is managed through labour line, they will call back and let the mother know where they can go to birth.
"The length of labour and how it feels varies enormously from person to person and for this reason, some babies will be unexpectedly born before getting to the hospital."
Do you have an interesting birth story? Please get in touch at webfeatures@trinitymirror.com
